Kwinti people

Kwinti
Total population
1,000[1] (2014, est.)
Regions with significant populations
Bitagron and Heidoti, Suriname300
Languages
Kwinti, Sranan Tongo, Dutch
Religion
Christianity mainly Moravian Church
Related ethnic groups
Saramaka, Matawai, Ndyukas
Granman of the Kwinti people
Incumbent
Remon Clemens
since 2020
ResidenceBitagron

The Kwinti are a Maroon people, descendants of runaway African slaves, living in the forested interior of Suriname on the bank of the Coppename River, and the eponymous term for their language, which has fewer than 300 speakers.[2] Their language is an English-based creole with Dutch, Portuguese and other influences. It is similar to the languages spoken by the Aluku and Paramaccan Maroons,[3] and split from Sranan Tongo in the middle 18th century.[4] The Kwinti had a population of about 300 in 2014[1] and adhere to the Moravian Church.[5]

  1. ^ a b Richard Price (2013). "The Maroon Population Explosion: Suriname and Guyane". New West Indian Guide. New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids Volume 87: Issue 3-4. 87 (3–4): 323–327. doi:10.1163/22134360-12340110. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  2. ^ Borges 2014, p. 195.
  3. ^ Hoogbergen 1992, p. 123.
  4. ^ Borges 2014, p. 188.
  5. ^ Albert Helman (1977). "Cultureel mozaïek van Suriname". Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 June 2020.